Two Anti-Terrorism courts on Tuesday sentenced several Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders, including Dr. Yasmin Rashid and Punjab Opposition Leader Ahmed Khan Bachar, to 10 years’ imprisonment after finding them guilty in cases related to the May 9, 2023 riots.
In Sargodha, an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) sentenced Bachar, MNA Mohammad Ahmed Chattha and several PTI workers to 10 years’ imprisonment each in a vandalism case pertaining to the May 9 riots that erupted after the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan. Subsequently, an ATC in Lahore sentenced Dr. Rashid, Mehmoodur Rasheed, former Punjab governor Omar Sarfraz Cheema, Senator Ejaz Chaudhry, and Afzal Azeem Pahat to 10 years’ imprisonment in the Sherpao Bridge case.
The Lahore ATC acquitted former foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, while Hamza Azeem Pahat, Rana Tanveer, and Aizaz Rafiq were also acquitted.
In a statement, Bachar vowed to challenge his conviction in the Lahore High Court (LHC), alleging political victimization and an unfair trial. “The verdict was delivered in a politically motivated case that deviated from constitutional principles,” he said, alleging the ruling did not fulfil required legal procedures. “Following the 26th Amendment, the ruling regime has brought the judiciary under its influence,” he claimed of the Mianwali vandalism and rioting case.
Questioning Witnesses
Addressing a press conference on Monday night, PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan criticized the court rulings, alleging the sentences did not fulfill legal requirements. Claiming the people had lost faith in the courts, he said the verdicts were “proof” the judiciary had “collapsed.”
According to Gohar, authorities are producing the same two witnesses in all May 9 cases. He said the accused PTI leaders and workers only wanted the right to a fair trial. During his press conference, the PTI leader reiterated that the Constitution did not permit the trial of the same case in different jurisdictions.
PTI Secretary General Salman Akram Raja, accompanying Gohar, claimed the rulings were an attack on democracy. Questioning the credibility of the witnesses presented in the cases, he urged the judiciary and institutions to reflect on the precedent they set for justice and civil liberties in Pakistan.
The convictions come ahead of the PTI’s planned protests on Aug. 5, the second anniversary of the incarceration of party Patron-in-Chief Imran Khan.